Goodal: Fun Fun Travel Kit Masks

Well, after the Wildberry Milk cleanser ruined my skin's progress, I can honestly say that the Goodal travel masks helped bring it back under control.  The kit comes with 4 masks. 

First Impression: 
The packaging reminds you of the ketchup containers they give you at fast food places when you order fries to-go.  They are small, light, and portioned so you can get at least two mask applications from each packet.  On the front of the masks, it features whatever the 'star ingredient is'. 

Instructions:  
The instructions were straightforward and foolproof.  Smear it on your face.  Let it sit.  Rinse it off.  Bam.  That's it.  But, each mask has a different purpose.  The glacial clay mask is supposed to help with cleansing and minimizing your pores.  I totally needed that after I turned into Pizzaface.  The Brightening mask has vitamin C and citrus extracts to help remove dead cells and speed up cell turn-over rate.  DEFINITELY needed that.  The Keeping Youth coconut mask boasted thta it would supply the skin with superior moisture and elasticity.  After scrubbing my face to bits, I avoided that.  Anything "anti-aging" is really more of an "anti-drying" treatment, which usually clogs my pores.  Instead, I opted for the Aloe, moisture mask to help repair my "tired, stressed skin".

Actual Use:
I rotated the masks over the course of several days, using them in this order: Day 1: glacial mask, Day 2: brightening mask, and Day 3: moisturizing mask.  I used them at night before bed to help maximize their effectiveness. 
The glacial clay mask was very THICK and grainy.  It was good to use it as both an exfoliant and a purifying mask to help clear up my skin.  It was my first attack against my nasty acne flair up because scrubbed away impurities and squeeze the gunk out of my pores. 
The brightening mask was number two in my line up.  While my pores were still mostly clear, it acted to reduce inflammation and start to fade the lighter dark marks- and prevent new ones from forming.  The removal of the dead skin cells helped keep more junk from getting into my pores. 
The brightening mask has a certain level of acid in it and the glacial mask was actually physically abrasive. 
Following those two heavy hitters with the moisturizing mask was like curling up on silk sheets after a hard day chopping down trees and a deep scrub down in a primitive shower.  I didn't want to treat my skin with sandpaper and lemon juice without giving it time to heal in between.  The aloe of the moisture mask helped to soothe my skin and protect it after I was done abusing it.  It had a creamy texture and it left my skin plump and moisturized after a 30 minute application.

Recommendations:
I was on vacation, away from my usual products and I had to work with what I had.  You should probably try these out individually to see if you like them instead of using them as an aggressive emergency skin repair solution like I did.  It would give you a lot more time to actually enjoy using the products yourself.  The glacial mask was like a clay mask/scrub.  If you need to exfoliate and you like to FEEL it happening, instead of passively doing it, this is the mask for you.  If you prefer gentler methods, the brightening mask will gently dissolve dead skin and treat dark spots without feeling like you scrubbed your face with ground pumice.  The moisture mask, I'll say this, it's best if you have a sunburn, really dry skin, or a recent chemical peel.  Don't use it if you have greasy skin.  You will regret your life.  Also, I apologize for not having a review for the coconut mask.  I wasn't going to touch it after my face was so wrecked. 

Skinfood: Wildberry Milk Foaming Cleanser

Borrowed from Holicmom.blogspot.com

What do I say about this one other than it is HORRIBLE.

Ahem.  I bought this a while ago and just stuffed it in a drawer while I continued using my Vitaberry cleanser.  I decided to take it with me to Poland to give my skin a break from my usual routine.  Mistake.  BIG mistake.  I assumed that because I've never had a bad reaction to Skinfood's products or foaming cleansers in general that this one would do well on my skin.

I have never been more wrong.  I was in Poland for two weeks.  I stopped using this junk within a week because I had broken out with the worst acne I've had since I got blue-light laser treatment to help control my break outs.  Since the laser treatments, the worst I get is one or two semi-underground zits that clear after a week and that is if I use regular old bar soap to wash my face and no pore cleansing masks.  With this stuff, I had a plethora of fine zits, semi-underground ones, and deep, painful cystic boils that didn't clear up until, like, literally 4 days ago.  That's a MONTH. 

This caused damage to my face that took an entire MONTH to clear up and I'm still trying to fade the resulting dark marks.  Right when I was feeling happy about the clarity of my complexion. 

Oh. I thought of something nice to say.  It's got wholesome looking packaging and it smells good.  Yeah.  Let me go back to trying to fade these dark spots. 

Ciracle : Goodbye Blackhead Pore Control Sheets

I wasn't sure about this one.  I've tried a lot of pore strips in my lifetime, most of them had an effect, but didn't make a huge difference in the war against my awful cystic acne.  This was the first product that suggested you to just let it sit on your skin and then rinse it away.  It was a very different and much GENTLER experience than the pore strips I'm used to.  No yanking off a sticky strip that's glued itself to your face, no redness after the treatment either.


First impression:

Borrowed from WishTrade.com

There's nothing super extraordinary about the packaging.  It's black with plain white writing in both English and Korean.  Inside the box is a flimsy instruction sheet written with use instructions in MANY languages... including Arabic and English.  It also comes with a set of tiny tweezers so you can hygienically obtain your strips from the jar without contaminating the others with your gross germ-mongering fingers.  It's a nice notion, but with almost every product that has an applicator like this, you end up spreading it on your face with your hands anyway.  I tend to forgo the tweezers because I'm impatient. 


Instructions:
Use the tongs to extract the sheet from the jar.  Place the sheet over the nose with your fingers; spread evenly.  Leave the sheet on for at least 15 minutes for maximum results.  Remove the sheet, then use a clean cotton swab to wipe off blackheads.  Finish by rinsing with clean water.  It is recommended to use the sheets on other problem areas of the face like cheeks and chin.







Actual use: 
At first I wasn't sure what to make of it.  I thought it would be like a wash pad with some sort of essence on it like many treatments packaged this way.  It was different.  In a good way.  I followed the instructions, placing sheets on my nose and chin.  I smashed some levels of Candy Crush Saga while I waited for it to work whatever magic or curses it would on my skin, lost track of time, and then... my face started to burn.  I pulled the sheets off fairly quickly. 
The product has a decent amount of acid in it.  It tingles and starts to burn if you leave it on for too long  However, it is very effective at extracting blackheads.  I've never had a product that opened my pores and allowed me to just wipe the blackheads off my face.  Although it didn't completely remove ALL the blackheads, it removed most of them and softened the more stubborn ones enough so that extracting them was easy and painless.  Most of them came out COMPLETELY- not just the little cap of build up that pokes out of your skin.  The whole thing, including the little tail thing that anchors it in your pores.  I don't have any redness from using the product either.

Recommendations:
I will recommend this product to anyone with troublesome blackheads and whiteheads...or any of the milder forms of cystic acne.  It will free your pores from their persecutors.  However, if you purchase it from Memebox, like I did, don't follow the instructions on the website.  I have extremely oily skin and it started to burn after about 20 minutes.  If I had followed the Memebox instructions instead of the ones on the paper included in the box... I would have gotten an unintentional chemical peel. 
After you use this product, be GENTLE with your skin.  It's going to be delicate and dry.  Wipe gently.  If you choose to extract your more stubborn blackheads, be GENTLE and CAREFUL.  You don't want to damage your face.  Be sure to moisturize.  That is all. 

Foot Therapy: Baby Foot Peel

People have been telling me about baby foot peels forever.  Initially, something about it made me feel like it was a frivolous and unnecessary purchase.  I could soak and scrape my feet for free at home.  Well, I learned quickly that a baby foot peel is an entirely different beast, preferable for people who don't want to spend two hours soaking and scraping their feet.

I used the  Kocostar brand sold on Memebox (Not Urban Outfitters.  It's a dollar cheaper on Memebox if you buy the two pack!) 

First of all, the only work you have to do is your regular foot care routine.  You wash your feet, slip on the baby foot peel socks and chill for 1.5 hours, then take them off, rinse, and go about your day.  These instructions are universal for all baby foot peels.  ALL OF THEM.

Courtesy of Ebay: Forgive the poor grammar.  Language barriers

For the first 3 days, your feet are normal.  There's not even the slightest sign that something's going to happen.  By the fourth day, though, your feet begin to peel.  Soon, all the dead skin, thick calluses and even snagging cuticles peel right off.  And by the seventh day, you have soft, smooth, callus free feet.  Usually.

Drawbacks: 

The things I had issues with were the unpredictable start day of the peeling and the wait time for it to finish.  The package says it should start within 4 days, but sometimes it starts earlier.  It causes problems when your feet just bust out with flaking skin on a day you decided to wear sandals.  Having your feet look like they're covered in nasty mummy skin for about a week can be quite shocking... and send an attentive S/O into a panic.  Like mine.  The poor dear thought my shoes were causing an allergic reaction. 
Also, though the package says it should be complete within a week, I've had a foot peel treatment continue for nearly 10 days.  However, I suppose it's important to note that if you have really thick calluses (like me) or thick foot skin (like me again), the product won't work the same for you and you won't get feet that are actually baby soft.  You may have to leave the treatment on your feet for an extra thirty minutes to get any effect at all.  You may even have to use the treatment 2 or 3 times before your skin is the desired smoothness.

Benefits:

I still love it.  It's much less effort to keep my feet smooth and my calluses don't build up as fast.  I don't risk cutting a callus off wrong and hurting myself.  I don't spend an hour each week scrubbing, scraping and buffing my feet to get them to feel smoother.  My shoes FIT better.  One application of the foot peel treatment every 6 weeks keeps my feet as smooth and supple as 6-12 hours of scraping over the same time period.  I cannot complain.  I would totally recommend this product to anyone who has thick calluses and cracked heels.  

Reinplatz Intensive Moisture Hand Pack

I was looking forward to trying this one, I must admit.  As a member of hospital personnel, I find myself in the unique position to have horribly dry, chapped, and cracked hands.  The air in the hospital is dry as desert sand, even when it's raining outside.  And all that wonderful, patient-protecting hand hygiene will suck the life out of your skin.  Add that to the fact that it's winter right now and you've got a recipe for bleeding fingers due to overdrying.

I knew that I wouldn't have time or inclination to enjoy this hand mask at home.  So, one night, when I decided to work a double shift (You can totally, legally work 16 hours straight in a hospital), I decided to pass the twilight hours between 1 a.m. And 3 a.m. with an impromptu spa treatment.

I figured that since I usually don't have to do work requiring great finger dexterity during an overnight shift it would be fine to wear these intensive moisture gloves under my sterile rubber gloves.  I was right.  The gloves slipped beneath the rubber gloves perfectly and, actually, wearing them like that increased my skin-to-product contact ratio.  Noice.

Courtesy of ljblog73.blogspot.com

Instructions:

Wear hand care glove pack after washing hands (I wash my hands about...30 times per shift..).  Wear gloves for 20 minutes.  Remove gloves and massage in any remaining essence.  Don't wash hands for at least 3 minutes after removing the pack.

Active Ingredients: Shea Butter and Jojoba oil

Initial impression:

The Reinplatz packaging is plain, straightforward and leaves no room for guesswork.  Open the pack, put on the gloves.   Since I've used foot packs before, I knew what to expect.  However, this pack surprised me.  The lining of the vinyl gloves was kinda velvety.  Also, it didn't feel like there was enough of the product in the glove to coat my hands.  I slipped them on anyway and put some extra small medical gloves on top to hold them in place while I worked.

The scent upon opening the pack was kind of bland.  It smelled a lot like plain shea butter that you buy in the canister at the beauty supply, sort of oily and planty.  That's great!  I hate overpowering scents.

Results:

WELL.  First of all, I have to admit this: I didn't remove the gloves when I should have.  I removed them like....2 hours after I put them on.  It's not like I forgot about them.  We got an admission and he decided that it was his job to wake all the patients who were asleep.  That said, my experience with this product may not match yours.

At first the product felt dry on my hands, however after about 10 minutes, I noticed that my hands were sweating.  The velvet inside the glove was locking the sweat to my hands and the product in the gloves seemed to be expanding, making a creamy coating around my skinny, wrinkly fingers.  After about 20 minutes, the gloves just REALLY moist.  As time passed, they got more and more moist on the inside.

...2  hours later they were slipping on my hands so much that I snatched them off and flung them in the trash.  I massaged my hands as directed and flexed my fingers.  They felt moisturized, the skin was supple and had a subtle sheen to them.  My fingers didn't look or feel like sandpaper any more and the skin that was peeling rubbed off the next time I washed my hands.  My usually wrinkly fingers were less wrinkled and my cuticles weren't cracking any more.

What I didn't like about it was the effect the shea butter had.  One of the reasons I shy away from shea butter hand creams is because it leaves a weird, waxy coating on your hands.  In truth, this coating is good for your skin.  It protects it.  But... I just don't like the way it feels.

After I washed my hands, they still felt soft, supple and plump and overall, less dry than they had before.  The skin wasn't tight or wrinkly.  Even after two more washes, my hands weren't as dry and brittle feeling as they were before, so it's clear that this product imparts some long term moisture. 

Recommendations:

I would recommend this to anyone who has damaged skin on their hands from over-washing or age.  The shea butter and jojoba oils nourish and soften the skin better than thinner hand creams on the market.  You should give it a try if your hands have been suffering or, even if you just want to have a D.I.Y. manicure.

Skinaz: The Kissable Lip 24 Hr Lip Tattoo

It's not often that I have a bad experience with a product... but I had a bad experience with this one.

Courtesy of Instagram

I bought it from eBay, curious about its mystical properties, after hearing of from them from the darkest corners of the internet.  I applied it to my lips with little thought.  The results were horrible.  It was thick, sticky and messy.  I didn't think a peel off lip tint would be a turn off for me.  I've used plenty of peel off masks.

It was like spreading extra thick glue.  It formed a polymer coating over my pout and adhered strongly to my lips, but this experience was horrible and uncomfortable.  It's supposed to exfoliate while it stains your lips... But what I experienced was more like having my lips glued together and then the skin ripped off them.

Once I peeled it off, it left a nice, long lasting stain, but the unexpected aftertaste was bitter...and perfumey.  My lips felt tender, and looked a bit...patchy.  I wouldn't be surprised if it actually tore off some of my skin for real. 

Maybe I didn't do something right... but for now, I'm going to stick to my Etude House Dear Darling lip jelly tiny. 

Seoul Search: Memebox scavenger hunt

For Easter, Memebox had a scavenger hunt sort of event.  Sadly, I didn't get to take advantage.  However, shortly after they had another called Seoul Search.  I took part in this one and was careful not to spend too much on mystery products.

By the time I found out about it, they only had a few left.  I got a couple of each.  Iteawon, Cheongdamndong, and Myeongdong. 

Oddly enough in this picture, I recognize about 12 different Korean skin care brands.

These are all places in Seoul, Korea.  The items included in the mystery are items common to those areas, available for about 50-75% of the price they are normally.  Memebox doesn't tell you what item corresponds to what place, but this is what I got.

Now, I have no idea what I'm going to do with this pink blush because it's a little too light for me, but I was thinking of giving the extra set of mystery items I got to anyone who's interested.  Drop me a message on my Snarktopus page on FB if you would like to pick up one of these items.

Missha BB Cream in Honey Beige

As an African American, I have a hard time locating good cosmetics that match my skin tone.  Most cosmetics are too dark, too red, too yellow, or very chalky.  And BB creams?  Forget about it.

Most of the time, they don't come in a shade darker than light tan.  Which, would be fine, if all people came in some shade of bland taupe.  I would greatly appreciate a tinted moisturizer that I can throw on before going out to help protect my skin and conceal some of its imperfections without looking like a bad Walking Dead extra.  Instead, with most BB creams, I have to add more foundation, creams and powders to balance out the colors.  Since receiving a few memeboxes and various products from memebox, I've taken to exploring their selection of K-products.

Enter Missha's BB cream.  I'm totally hooked on Korean cosmetics and skincare.  I gave everyone baskets of products for Christmas.  All should know the joy of K-beauty.

Korean powders and tinted primers have worked well for me so far, so, I thought that since there was a sale and I had extra scratch from working doubles, I would splurge on a $15 face cream from Missha.  Yes.  Splurge.  I'm one of those people who feels like buying makeup is frivolous....except nail polish.  I love nail polish.

I picked honey beige because for most brands, I fall into the honey category.

Initial Impression:
The product comes in a tube with a dark golden flexible plastic and silvery lettering.  It reminds me of the packaging of Fashion Fair makeups.  It dispenses via a pump action push top.  The product is creamy and thick...and it smells.  Not bad, just really perfumey.  My boyfriend thought I was trying out a new fragrance. 

Results:
I only used the product a few times so far.  I found that it works well as a tinted moisturizer for me, but it adds a subtle, pink undertone to my skin.  It is also difficult to spread evenly, and absolute HELL to wash off your hands and face later.  I didn't have any skin reactions to it, though. 

Recommendations: I'd be reluctant to recommend this product to everyone who's anyone.  It gets the job done, for sure, but there are a couple major turn offs for me.

1.  The smell.  It shouldn't have such a strong smell.  It's like perfume ALL OVER YOUR FACE.  To other people you just smell like you've got a really nice perfume on, but unfortunately for me, it's like I rammed perfumed tissues up my nose.  It would be different if Missha offered whatever fragrance they used as an actual perfume that you mist on your body... but no.  It's in the makeup.

2.  The texture and difficulties associated with removing it.  I used two makeup wipes and washed my face twice and I was still getting brown stuff off my face the next morning.  The only thing that takes it completely off is BABY OIL.  Slathering an acne prone face with mineral oil is a great way to induce a collage of zits.  I did like that the BB cream had staying power, but my face didn't appreciate being manhandled afterwards.

Overall: This product was a good color match for my face and works well with and without my regular make up.  I'm going to keep experimenting with it until I find a way to keep it from gluing itself to my face.

Note: Since using the BB cream a few more times, I've found that layering a moisturizer underneath it helps keep it from adhering as strongly to your skin- but...that was the point of having the BB cream.  It's supposed to replace moisturizers.

Try K- Beauty Sweepstakes

Are you guys excited!?  The Try K Beauty Sweepstakes starts today, February First! For the full details, visit this post!  Like my Facebook page and subscribe!  You could win a random assortment including, but not limited to the following!

Those are moisturizing toners, lip tints, lipsticks, brow pencils, eye shadows, pore clearing strips and washes, under eye concealers and some blushes.  Oooh lala.  There's more, but I'm not taking photos of everything!

Pure Plus Cocoon Returning Toner

Forgive the lack of structure for this post.  I celebrated my ability to avoid getting the flu during cold and flu season a bit too early, I think.  

As a rule, I don't use toners.  They make my skin feel weird.  Most toners are really astringent and irritate my skin.  HOWEVER... I found this particular toner on Memebox in their 1+1 special not too long ago.  It's called ...well, it's in the title of this post. 

Borrowed from Canyoucwhatisee because I was too lazy to photograph.  Check her out!

Pure plus Cocoon Returning Toner is actually really gentle.  It doesn't smell very strong and it leaves your skin lightly moisturized and hydrated.  It has ingredients like witch hazel and B vitamins.  It is supposed to help with fading dark marks and moisturize your skin.  I also found it to be very versatile.  Particularly because well, I ran out of make up removal wipes.  I was able to put some of this wonderful toner on a cotton pad and clean off the makeup really well, actually.  This stuff is going to be my new best friend- right up there with my Borntree Vitaberry cleanser.

Secret Key: Sweet Glam Tint Glow

This beauty arrived in the memebox K-style box.  I need a new lipstick ike I need a bullet in my head, but the description on the obligatory box insert peaked my curiosity.  I popped open the cute, white and pink box to see what color Puscia or Purple+Fuscia was. 

Initial Impression:

I nicked this image from Google

I didn't expect to see such a high 80's fashion looking lipstick tube.  The outer packaging was simple and sweet, but the tube itself looks like a runway prop.  A slick chrome nub marks the base of the lipstick itself while a semi-opaque bubble gum pink squarish tube forms the top.  I like it. 

The lipstick is described as being a purple fuscia.  To be honest, it looks too purple for me or anyone to wear.  I was scared to put it on.  I already have fat lips.  The last thing I need is to color them purple and start looking like a muppet.

Results: 
This lipstick looked like a giant wand of purple that would instantly turn me into a big-haired, neon-lipped 80's vixen.  It fooled me.  The lipstick is just as semi-sheer as the tube!  One swipe gives your lips a healthy burst of soft mauve pink with purple undertones.  The color is buildable.  It's a semi-glossy too, with a soft, shimmery matte look.  It's not very creamy, but has a smooth glide and leaves your lips feeling hydrated. 

Right to Left: 1 Swipe, 2 Swipes, 4 Swipes

My record with this lipstick is a good 5 hours before needing to touch up.  A bonus with this lipstick is that it leaves a subtle tint to your lips, so unlike normal lipsticks, your touch up doesn't look streaky or like you scraped a half melted crayon over your face.

Recommendations:
I would recommend this shade to folks with a cool color palette- like mine.  It will bring out the warmth of your skin.  However, I would caution against building the color to its fullest.  After about 4 swipes, it starts looking a bit chalky and a little too close to Nicki Minaj's lipcolor choices.  Using it as a tinted lip balm or with a dab of gloss to amp up the shine works best.  If you're interested in it, you can find it on eBay pretty easily.  Memebox seems to have run out.

Unrelated:
I should start tagging these posts with the words "African American" because lots of Chocolate Children like K-beauty, but there isn't an abundance of reviews for our skin colors...

Berry Body Lotion

I'm very picky about my body lotion.  I suffer from both dry skin and extremely sensitive skin.  Furthermore, my skin is prone to hyper-pigmentation.  I got a papercut on my hand two weeks ago and when it healed, it developed eczema and turned as black as a dog's nose.  I need a lotion with some serious UMPH!

To be honest, I wasn't even going to use this one.  However, one day, like the idiot I am, I found that I had forgotten to buy body lotion, so I had no choice.

Initial Impression:
Well, it's in a flexible red and white tube.  The product is thin, but creamy.  The smell is like a berry medley with some floral undertones.  It's not overpowering.  I don't expect it to moisturize my skin very well, but it bears trying.

Results: 
Well, this product gives you a long lasting, light berry and floral scent, just as I expected.  It did next to nothing for my super dry skin, also, as I expected.  It's moisturizing effects lasted for four hours at the most.

Recommendations:
If your skin is relatively moist and only needs a little hydration, this lotion is great.  If you need all day moisture, good luck.  You'll have to mix this one with a dollop of Vaseline or coconut oil to get the skin nourishment you want and need.  At least it smells great. 

Note: Apparently, there's a whole line of skin care with this scent.  I would be intrigued because I love the scent, but the lotion did nothing for me so... no.